How do you make players care about a world that doesn't exist?Game writer and narrative designer Anna Megill joins The Corner of Story and Game to explore emotional design, worldbuilding, and the craft of creating characters, places, and experiences that players genuinely care about.Drawing on her work across games including Control, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Guild Wars 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Fable, Anna breaks down how writers and designers can build emotional investment without simply explaining everything to the player.We talk about using mystery as a hook, creating meaningful stakes, telling stories through environments rather than dialogue, balancing lore with restraint, and using mechanics themselves to create emotion. Anna also shares a powerful example from Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons that shows what can happen when narrative and game mechanics become inseparable.We also explore games as spaces for comfort and escape, what writers can learn from psychology and physical environments, and why experiencing more of the world can make you a better storyteller.At the heart of the conversation is a simple piece of advice:Create what matters to you.This episode marks the return of The Corner of Story and Game after an extended break, and was recorded much earlier in the spring of 2026.In this conversation:What emotional design actually meansHow to make players care about characters and worldsWhy mystery is such a powerful storytelling hookEnvironmental storytelling and subtextWhat Control teaches us about worldbuildingCreating emotion through game mechanicsHow much lore is actually enoughGames as escapism, comfort, and communityWhy writers should experience as much of life as possibleCreating work that matters to youSpoiler warning: This conversation contains a major story spoiler for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons at around 19:30.About The Corner of Story and GameThe Corner of Story and Game explores the craft of storytelling, worldbuilding, writing, and game design through conversations with the people who create the worlds we love, and through the process of creating some new ones of our own.Worlds worth getting lost in.Stay safe, wanderers. Your chair will be ready by the fire the next time you stop in at The Corner.Find Anna MegillWebsiteBlueskyLinkedInThe Corner of Story and Game:DiscordFacebookInstagramBlueskyLinkedInEmail: gerald@...
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